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Cairns in December

Queensland, Australia · Summer Off-Peak
3.5/10
Comfort Score for December 2.7 below annual avg · 2.9 below national December avg
Ranked #176 of 213 cities for December comfort

December in Cairns is peak summer, and the weather reflects it. You're looking at average daily highs of 30.9 degrees.

The average daily maximum is 30.9 degrees with overnight lows of 23.6 degrees. The warmth sticks around even after dark.

At 30.9 degrees, December runs 2.6 degrees above Cairns's annual average of 28.3 degrees.

Rainfall in December averages 379mm over about 22 days. That means roughly a 73% chance of rain on any given day, so definitely bring rain gear.

Sunshine-wise, December delivers around 21.8 MJ/m2 of daily solar radiation. UV sits in the extreme category. Sunscreen, hat, and sunnies are all essential. You can burn in under 10 minutes.

December scores 3.5/10 on our Comfort Score. It's the tough end of the year weather-wise.

Packing tip: bring light, breathable clothing, waterproof gear, and SPF 50+ sunscreen and a hat.

The sea breeze usually kicks in by early afternoon in December, which is genuinely welcome. It can knock 3 to 5 degrees off the feels-like temperature.

The full data breakdown is below. You can also see how other Australian cities compare in December.

December at a Glance

Average High ▲
30.9°C
Daily maximum
2.6° above annual avg, 2.2° vs national avg
Average Low ▲
23.6°C
Overnight minimum
2.6° above annual avg, 5.4° vs national avg
Rainfall ▲
379mm
22 rain days
179.4mm above annual avg, 290.4mm vs national avg
Rain Probability
71%
Daily chance of rain
Solar Exposure
21.8
MJ/m2 per day
Humidity
67%
Moderate
Comfort ▼
3.5/10
Tough

Temperature Range

23.6°C
30.9°C

Daily temperature range in December. The bar shows the typical spread between overnight lows and afternoon highs.

What to Pack

Coming From Overseas?

How December in Cairns stacks up against major cities around the world.

London
About 23 degrees warmer and considerably wetter.
New York
About 25 degrees warmer and considerably wetter.
Tokyo
About 19 degrees warmer and considerably wetter.

How December Compares

Cairns's monthly climate at a glance. December is highlighted.

Month Max Min Rain Comfort
Jan 31.2 24.5 689mm 2.9
Feb 30.5 24.3 316mm 3.4
Mar 29.5 23.8 514mm 3.7
Apr 28.6 22.1 121mm 5.4
May 26.1 20.6 82mm 6.9
Jun 25.9 16.7 18mm 9.0
Jul 24.6 16.9 66mm 9.2
Aug 25.6 17.8 61mm 8.6
Sep 27.1 19.1 60mm 7.9
Oct 29.1 20.5 25mm 7.3
Nov 30.2 21.7 61mm 6.1
Dec 30.9 23.6 379mm 3.5

December in Other Australian Cities

Sydney in December26.8°C, 53mm Melbourne in December26.0°C, 46mm Brisbane in December29.3°C, 242mm Perth in December29.5°C, 6mm Adelaide in December26.8°C, 11mm Gold Coast in December28.2°C, 176mm Newcastle in December26.9°C, 48mm Canberra in December27.4°C, 60mm Sunshine Coast in December27.9°C, 275mm Wollongong in December25.4°C, 52mm Hobart in December21.9°C, 91mm Geelong in December25.7°C, 34mm Townsville in December29.4°C, 408mm Darwin in December31.5°C, 253mm Toowoomba in December28.3°C, 110mm Ballarat in December23.9°C, 42mm Bendigo in December27.7°C, 31mm Albury in December29.5°C, 52mm Launceston in December22.8°C, 73mm Mackay in December29.0°C, 230mm Rockhampton in December31.4°C, 166mm Bundaberg in December29.0°C, 238mm Bunbury in December28.1°C, 8mm Coffs Harbour in December27.9°C, 62mm Wagga Wagga in December30.2°C, 68mm Hervey Bay in December28.5°C, 189mm Shepparton in December29.7°C, 36mm Tamworth in December31.8°C, 36mm Port Macquarie in December26.8°C, 32mm Orange in December25.6°C, 48mm Dubbo in December30.7°C, 51mm Warrnambool in December22.2°C, 49mm Mildura in December32.1°C, 15mm Gladstone in December29.3°C, 203mm Bathurst in December27.0°C, 34mm Geraldton in December30.0°C, 25mm Mount Gambier in December23.0°C, 50mm Nowra in December26.5°C, 40mm Alice Springs in December36.6°C, 34mm Traralgon in December25.4°C, 39mm Lismore in December29.8°C, 179mm Caloundra in December28.0°C, 245mm Armidale in December25.6°C, 58mm Albany in December22.2°C, 11mm Kalgoorlie in December34.2°C, 65mm Emerald in December34.6°C, 87mm Broken Hill in December32.8°C, 11mm Grafton in December30.2°C, 90mm Whyalla in December30.6°C, 6mm Murray Bridge in December28.8°C, 12mm Port Augusta in December32.6°C, 19mm Port Lincoln in December24.2°C, 24mm Port Pirie in December30.7°C, 4mm Victor Harbor in December24.0°C, 25mm Mount Isa in December37.7°C, 16mm Longreach in December38.1°C, 16mm Roma in December32.6°C, 66mm Charleville in December34.3°C, 62mm Broome in December32.0°C, 111mm Karratha in December38.7°C, 10mm Port Hedland in December36.8°C, 58mm Esperance in December23.4°C, 16mm Carnarvon in December31.6°C, 24mm Exmouth in December36.4°C, 15mm Mandurah in December28.1°C, 4mm Rockingham in December27.9°C, 6mm Margaret River in December23.2°C, 19mm Griffith in December31.7°C, 26mm Mudgee in December28.6°C, 48mm Maitland in December30.7°C, 37mm Cessnock in December29.6°C, 50mm Tweed Heads in December27.6°C, 143mm Forster in December27.5°C, 29mm Byron Bay in December27.2°C, 136mm Kiama in December25.5°C, 51mm Katoomba in December25.0°C, 41mm Moree in December33.7°C, 24mm Inverell in December29.5°C, 80mm Cooma in December25.8°C, 44mm Young in December28.3°C, 117mm Parkes in December30.7°C, 50mm Forbes in December31.1°C, 87mm Cowra in December30.0°C, 65mm Goulburn in December27.1°C, 50mm Lithgow in December25.6°C, 55mm Singleton in December32.5°C, 11mm Muswellbrook in December31.4°C, 27mm Narrabri in December33.5°C, 54mm Bourke in December35.8°C, 37mm Lightning Ridge in December34.1°C, 55mm Hay in December32.0°C, 17mm Deniliquin in December31.2°C, 26mm Jindabyne in December24.5°C, 22mm Batemans Bay in December25.2°C, 32mm Ulladulla in December24.9°C, 46mm Merimbula in December22.6°C, 40mm Wodonga in December29.5°C, 60mm Wangaratta in December29.3°C, 38mm Echuca in December30.4°C, 22mm Horsham in December28.4°C, 33mm Hamilton in December24.7°C, 36mm Colac in December23.0°C, 43mm Sale in December25.3°C, 57mm Bairnsdale in December25.4°C, 69mm Lakes Entrance in December22.8°C, 71mm Swan Hill in December31.3°C, 20mm Portland in December21.5°C, 41mm Benalla in December28.7°C, 30mm Wonthaggi in December21.4°C, 77mm Lorne in December24.0°C, 46mm Bright in December28.1°C, 78mm Falls Creek in December18.2°C, 73mm Noosa in December27.2°C, 214mm Maryborough in December30.1°C, 232mm Gympie in December30.0°C, 255mm Warwick in December29.7°C, 82mm Dalby in December31.0°C, 110mm Kingaroy in December28.4°C, 172mm Biloela in December32.9°C, 121mm Yeppoon in December29.1°C, 169mm Bowen in December29.5°C, 478mm Ayr in December30.2°C, 475mm Innisfail in December30.8°C, 382mm Atherton in December28.2°C, 382mm Port Douglas in December29.8°C, 365mm Cooktown in December31.7°C, 203mm Weipa in December32.7°C, 220mm Charters Towers in December32.2°C, 226mm Cloncurry in December37.9°C, 49mm Winton in December39.0°C, 22mm Birdsville in December39.7°C, 10mm Stanthorpe in December26.5°C, 121mm Ceduna in December28.5°C, 24mm Coober Pedy in December35.7°C, 16mm Renmark in December32.2°C, 4mm Berri in December32.3°C, 7mm Clare in December28.1°C, 5mm Barossa Valley in December28.4°C, 15mm Goolwa in December25.8°C, 20mm Kingscote in December25.5°C, 29mm Naracoorte in December26.3°C, 21mm Devonport in December20.0°C, 78mm Burnie in December19.6°C, 63mm Ulverstone in December19.5°C, 74mm St Helens in December22.1°C, 49mm Strahan in December17.9°C, 222mm Cradle Mountain in December14.5°C, 240mm Swansea in December21.9°C, 95mm Queenstown in December18.5°C, 304mm Katherine in December35.0°C, 150mm Tennant Creek in December38.9°C, 21mm Nhulunbuy in December32.0°C, 153mm Yulara in December36.0°C, 40mm Kununurra in December36.8°C, 96mm Newman in December37.9°C, 72mm Tom Price in December37.4°C, 55mm Meekatharra in December37.5°C, 38mm Northam in December33.1°C, 2mm Katanning in December29.2°C, 8mm Denmark in December22.0°C, 17mm Dunsborough in December26.1°C, 8mm Penrith in December31.5°C, 64mm Richmond in December31.8°C, 66mm Campbelltown in December29.4°C, 27mm Gosford in December28.0°C, 56mm Sunbury in December26.2°C, 36mm Bacchus Marsh in December27.0°C, 41mm Ocean Grove in December23.6°C, 51mm Torquay in December24.4°C, 52mm Phillip Island in December21.8°C, 82mm Daylesford in December23.3°C, 38mm Airlie Beach in December28.4°C, 364mm Mission Beach in December29.6°C, 474mm Seventeen Seventy in December29.1°C, 247mm Agnes Water in December28.9°C, 247mm Rainbow Beach in December28.1°C, 300mm Coolangatta in December27.6°C, 137mm Surfers Paradise in December28.2°C, 176mm Thredbo in December18.6°C, 66mm Perisher in December19.1°C, 56mm Nelson Bay in December28.2°C, 28mm Terrigal in December26.0°C, 72mm Lennox Head in December27.4°C, 118mm Yamba in December28.5°C, 93mm Narooma in December24.4°C, 49mm Eden in December23.5°C, 59mm Coral Bay in December33.1°C, 36mm Monkey Mia in December34.2°C, 14mm Kalbarri in December31.1°C, 28mm Jurien Bay in December29.3°C, 3mm Busselton in December28.2°C, 5mm Walpole in December21.2°C, 23mm McLaren Vale in December26.1°C, 18mm Hahndorf in December25.3°C, 18mm Robe in December21.2°C, 43mm Jabiru in December33.9°C, 228mm Mataranka in December35.5°C, 127mm Bicheno in December20.5°C, 69mm Bruny Island in December19.1°C, 138mm Port Arthur in December20.1°C, 122mm White Cliffs in December35.1°C, 23mm Tibooburra in December36.4°C, 17mm Oodnadatta in December37.1°C, 18mm Marree in December36.5°C, 22mm Marble Bar in December40.1°C, 59mm Halls Creek in December37.8°C, 33mm Fitzroy Crossing in December37.6°C, 100mm Wyndham in December36.7°C, 124mm Thursday Island in December31.2°C, 195mm Norfolk Island in December22.4°C, 37mm Christmas Island in December26.4°C, 359mm Lord Howe Island in December23.1°C, 96mm

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